Someone of the Yankee persausion asked me the difference between lager and real ale

[World's End Stella]

Different yeasts (lager, uses bottom-feeding, I mean fermenting, yeast; ale, top);
ale is fermented at warmer temps and for a shorter time
Purity - you can throw any old **** into an ale to give it flavour. Lager - the proper stuff - should limit itself to the main ingredients, Reinheitsgebot and all that

Hmmm wot about carbonation? All lager is carbonated but real ale never is, true?

[SWv2]

Hmmm wot about carbonation? All lager is carbonated but real ale never is, true?

Carbonation of any beer occurs naturally during the fermentation stage.

I may be wrong but is not all ale (real ale if you like) not normally served from a cask as opposed to keg. The cask itself plays some part in taste of the end product.

[Luis Anaconda]

Hmmm wot about carbonation? All lager is carbonated but real ale never is, true?

As SW says the fizz is formed as part of the fermentation process but it can be "forced" too - there's actually several different ways. Reminds me of the time I was given a private tour of the Budweiser brewery in České Budějovice and was given a sample of the Budvar part way through the process - it was absolutely gorgeous but the stuff you get in the bottles is a bit sharper fizzier as they need to make it like that for longevity/allow it to travel. And I think I could have organised a piss-up in that brewery

[SWv2]

As SW says the fizz is formed as part of the fermentation process but it can be "forced" too - there's actually several different ways. Reminds me of the time I was given a private tour of the Budweiser brewery in České Budějovice and was given a sample of the Budvar part way through the process - it was absolutely gorgeous but the stuff you get in the bottles is a bit sharper fizzier as they need to make it like that for longevity/allow it to travel. And I think I could have organised a piss-up in that brewery

They had to ask you to leave didn't they?

[Luis Anaconda]

They had to ask you to leave didn't they?

Far from it, I was a guest of the Czech tourist board. They had to indulge me

[SWv2]

Far from it, I was a guest of the Czech tourist board. They had to indulge me

Speaking as we are of all things Czech did you see dear TR’s goal on his return for Sparta Prague.

I had actually just assumed he had retired.

[Sir C]

Speaking as we are of all things Czech did you see dear TR’s goal on his return for Sparta Prague.

I had actually just assumed he had retired.

I love his devil's horns celebration. What a rocker Tommy is!

[redgunamo]

I love his devil's horns celebration. What a rocker Tommy is!

No, he's a President Bush fan

[Luis Anaconda]

Speaking as we are of all things Czech did you see dear TR’s goal on his return for Sparta Prague.

I had actually just assumed he had retired.

yes - me too. Lovely goal, great celebration

[Burney]

Far from it, I was a guest of the Czech tourist board. They had to indulge me

I was sexually assaulted in Ceske Budejovice. True story.